St Teresa & St John Southworth Churches, Cleveleys
Fr Chris Cousens—Phone: 853340
Rev Bernard Ward (Deacon) (Tel: 858346)
Enquiries for St John Southworth: Phone: 853340
23 April 2023
http://www.st-teresas-church.co.uk
Email: st.teresas.cleveleys@gmail.com
Lancaster Roman Catholic Diocesan Trustees Registered Charity Number 23433
Sunday : Third Sunday of Easter
Contents: Gospel
Notices
Reflections for the coming week
Gospel: Luke 24:13-35
Two of the disciples of Jesus were on their way to a village called Emmaus, seven miles from Jerusalem, and they were talking together about all that had happened. Now as they talked this over, Jesus himself came up and walked by their side; but something prevented them from recognising him. He said to them, ‘What matters are you discussing as you walk along?’ They stopped short, their faces downcast.
Then one of them, called Cleopas answered him, ‘You must be the only person staying in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have been happening there these last few days.’ ‘What things?’ he asked. ‘All about Jesus of Nazareth’ they answered ‘who proved he was the great prophet by the things he said and did in the sight of God and of the whole people; and how our chief priests and our leaders handed him over to be sentenced to death, and had him crucified. Our own hope had been that he would be the one to set Israel free. And this is not all: two whole days have gone by since it all happened; and some women from our group have astounded us: they went to the tomb in the early morning, and when they did not find his body, they came back to tell us they had seen a vision of angels who declared he was alive. Some of our friends went to the tomb and found everything exactly as the women had reported, but of him they saw nothing.
Then he said to them, ‘You foolish men! So slow to believe the full message of the prophets! Was it not ordained that the Christ should suffer and so enter into his glory?’ Then, starting with Moses and going through all the prophets, he explained to them the passages throughout the scriptures that were about himself.
When they drew near to the village to which they were going, he made as if to go on; but they pressed him to stay with them ‘It is nearly evening’ they said ‘and the day is almost over.’ So he went in to stay with them. Now while he was with them at the table, he took the bread and said the blessing; then he broke it and handed it to them. And their eyes were opened and they recognised him; but he had vanished from their sight. Then they said to each other, ‘Did not our hearts burn within us as he talked to us on the road and explained the scriptures to us?,
They set out that instant and returned to Jerusalmen. There they found the eleven assembled together with their companions, who appeared to Simon.’ Then they told their story of what had happened on the road they had recognised him at the breaking of bread.
Gospel Reflection Gospel Reflection : Walk The Walk
We sometimes hear the phrase ‘Walk The Walk’. It means that we share, with compassion, someone else’s life, just as Jeasus walked the walk with the disciples going to Emmaus. It means entering into the lives of others. Of course, we often have a really good chat on a walk.
Jesus entered the disciples’ lives by listening; hearing their disappointment that he had been crucified, and that their hopes were shattered. His was active listening. He was able to connect with them as he told them about himself. The time probably passed very quickly. It is apt in this year, when we are still preparing for a great Church Synod, that we should reflect upon the fact that Jesus makes himself known first by listening and then by speaking, because that is what we expect Pope Francis and others to do when our own concerns are put before them at the Synod.
Whatever way Jesus spoke, he lifted their spirits. As they said later, ‘our hearts burned within us as he spoke’. Prayer at times can be like that. Our faith-life is walking with Jesus as we share everything of our lives with him and hear his words of acceptance. We walk with the Gospel words in our minds, and their Good News prompting us to be Good News for others. But it doesn’t end just with a walk. Like a good walk often ends with refreshment, the Emmaus walk ended with a meal. At that meal the two disciples recognised Jesus. Our talking and walking with the Lord is a journey to the Eucharist. There, without words, he offers bread and wine, his body and blood, his life and love to us.
Like the two disciples, we are encouraged then to share his risen life, as we take what we have received to our world. In a sense our walk ends with the invitation to walk further.
We Remember In Our Prayers Eddie Morton whose Funeral was last week, Doris Sanders whose Funeral is at Carleton Crematorium on Thursday, 27th April at 12.30 pm, Alain Lebon whose Funeral Mass is at St. Teresa’s on Friday 5th May at 12. 30 pm, and Dorothy Greaves whose Funeral Mass is at St. Teresa’s on Wednesday, 17th May at 11.15 am. We remember them and their families, and all those whose anniversaries are at this time. May they be in God’s peace.
We Welcome Into The Family of The Church Theodore Edward Gallagher, whose Baptism takes place at St. Teresa’s this Sunday.
‘Jesus Came And Stood Among Them’ The Sunday Readings between now and Pentecost show how the Risen Jesus was present amongst his followers, starting in Jerusalem and spreading outwards……and reaching the Fylde coast several generations later. Martin Bennett, who kindly supplies us with the weekday reflections which are printed on St. Teresa’s website along with the bulletin each weekend (www.st-teresas-church.co.uk), coordinates a group of people from different parishes, including our own, which meets online each Thursday at 7.30 pm, to discover the full meaning of the Sunday Mass readings, and how they apply to our daily lives in today’s society. All are very welcome. For further details, please email or phone Martin : martinben@gmail.com / 07931 902346.
The Food Pantry at St. Teresa’s Church is open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 10.30 am – 1 pm, and on Wednesday, 2.30 pm – 4 pm.
The ‘Warm Space’ takes place in St. Teresa’s Church Hall on Wednesday afternoons, 2 pm – 4 pm. All welcome.
Bread Broken
Lord, whom we meet in bread and wine,
in body broken and blood outpoured,
fill us with your compassion,
that we may hear the cries of the hungry
and reach out to those in need.
Engender in us a thirst for justice,
that the hungry will be satisfied,
and the rich inspired to share.
Roll away our apathy
that, with arms outstretched,
we may offer life in place of death
and hope in the face of despair. Amen.
Daily Reflections for this week
Monday (Dietrich Bonhoeffer)
All that we rightly expect from God and pray for is to be found in Jesus Christ. The God of Jesus Christ has nothing to do with all that we, in our human way, think he can and ought to do. We must persevere in quiet meditation on the life, sayings, deeds, sufferings and death of Jesus in order to learn what God promises and what he fulfils. One thing is certain: we must always live close to the presence of God, for that is newness of life. Our joy is hidden in suffering, our life in death. But all through we are sustained in a wondrous fellowship, and that is the firm ground on which we stand.
Scripture (Luke 24: 21, 25-26, 30-32)
Whilst walking on the road to Emmaus, the two men said to him “Our own hope had been that he would be the one to set Israel free.” Then Jesus said to them “You foolish men! So slow to believe all that the prophets have said! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer before entering his glory?” Then, starting with Moses and going through all the prophets, he explained to them the passages throughout scripture that were about himself. That evening, while he was with them at table, he took the bread and said the blessing; then he broke it and handed it to them. And their eyes were opened and they recognised him. But he had vanished from their sight.
Tuesday (Carlo Carretto)
Is it not horrible to be born in a stable a few hours after the citizens of Bethlehem had refused to give lodgings to his mother who ran the risk of seeing her child die with cold in the night? Is it not horrible, men’s treatment of Jesus during his life and in his death? Is Calvary not horrible? Well, Jesus’ love transformed the horror of it into sublimity. His acceptance, his humility, his meekness changed the aspects of things and the most obscene chapter in history becomes the most beautiful, the most tender, the most grandiose, the most alluring, in which a dying God smiles on man who is killing him, and pardons him.
Scripture (Acts 2:14,22-24)
Then Peter stood up with the Eleven and said in a loud voice: ‘Men of Israel, listen to what I am going to say: Jesus the Nazarene was a man commended to you by God by the miracles and portents and signs that God worked through him when he was among you, as you know. This man, who was put into your power by the deliberate intention and foreknowledge of God, you took and had crucified and killed by men outside the Law. But God raised him to life, freeing him from the pangs of Hades; for it was impossible for him to be held in its power.
Wednesday (Julian of Norwich)
God is the still point at the centre. There is no doer but he. All this he showed me with great joy, saying, ‘See, I am God. See, I am in all things. See, I do all things. See, I never take my hands off my work, nor ever shall, through all eternity. See, I lead all things to the end I have prepared for them. I do this by the same wisdom and love and power through which I made them. How can anything be done that is not well done?’ God wants us to know that he keeps us safe through good and ill.
Scripture (Isaiah 55: 8-11)
My thoughts are not your thoughts and your ways are not my ways, declares the Lord. For the heavens are as high above earth as my ways are above your ways, my thoughts above your thoughts. For as the rain and the snow come down from the sky and do not return before having watered the earth, fertilizing it and making it to grow to provide seed for the sower and food to eat, so it is with the word that goes from my mouth: it will not return o me unfulfilled or before having carried out my good pleasure and having achieved what it was sent to do.
Thursday (A Carthusian)
The future does not rest with us. The most we can do is accept trustingly his divine action, which is the expression of his love. We must not think so much about people, and things and events. We should look rather at Him Who with kingly power controls these shifting scenes, making them fit in according to the plan of his infinite love. We should steep ourselves more and more in this spirit of faith, which alone is reasonable and true. That is how God sees things. It is quite true that the world seems in a very bad way. How can we see love, where everything points the other way? We do not see it, we believe it. To believe is to see things in God’s light.
Scripture (Daniel 2:19-22)
The mystery was revealed to Daniel and he blessed the God of heaven. This is what Daniel said: ‘May the name of God be blessed for ever and ever, since wisdom and power are his alone. It is he who controls the procession of times and seasons, who makes and unmakes kings, who confers wisdom on the wise and knowledge on those with discernment, who
uncovers depths and mysteries, who knows what lies in
darkness; and light dwells with him.
Friday (Fr. Michael Ivens, SJ)
Discernment is a function of the wisdom of Spirit. It can be broadly defined as the wisdom which enables a person to distinguish between what is and is not of the Spirit. As a gift of the Spirit, discernment needs specifically spiritual qualities. It needs an attitude of presence to God’s word in all its mediations, and hence a sense of the Church and an openness to God’s word in Scripture, prophecy, situations, events; and more particularly, discernment needs the inner knowledge of Christ that leads to the feel of his ‘mind’. Where these latter qualities are to be found, the conditions for discernment are present.
Scripture (1 Cor. 2: 5-8, 10)
To those who have reached maturity, we do talk of wisdom, not, it is true, a philosophy of this age or of the rulers of this age, who will not last long now. It is of the mysterious wisdom of God that we talk, the wisdom that was hidden, which God predestined to be for our glory before the ages began. None of the rulers of the age recognized it; for if they had recognized it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. To us, though, God has given revelation through the Spirit, for the Spirit explores the depths of everything, even he depths of God.
Martin Bennett